


Footnotes to chapter 8 Translation of DMMd: Mink's route

by fallenAmoeba (forgetfulAmoeba)



Series: Mink's Route [2]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel)
Genre: Archived From Tumblr, Archived from fallen-amoeba Blog, M/M, Translation, Translation notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 08:59:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16950993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgetfulAmoeba/pseuds/fallenAmoeba
Summary: A few translation points I want to elaborate on, with a bit of analysis/personal reading into things (some nsfw involved).





	Footnotes to chapter 8 Translation of DMMd: Mink's route

**Author's Note:**

> A few translation points I want to elaborate on, with a bit of analysis/personal reading into things (some nsfw involved).

## Translation notes 

  * If he wanted to kill me he could kill me any time.  
Therefore, I did not think for one bit that he intended to kill me.  
More than words I knew that from experience, and trembled. 



I really struggled with these lines trying to get the meaning I wanted out of it. As literally as I can it’s:

_If (Mink) thinks “let’s kill (me)” he can kill me anytime.  
And so, I am not thinking at all that he will kill me or suchlike._

In the next line the dictionaries all define it as “by firsthand experience”, but the phrase in Japanese is very literally “felt/experienced it with (my own) skin”, bringing the whole experience a lot closer than the final wording which is a bit more detached.

I think this is a very important thought from Aoba, because it shows that he is very aware that this is not senseless violence for the sake of it, that Mink has a specific purpose in mind. Likewise too though, it means he knows also that there will be no escape or release from the ordeal ahead, unless absolutely by accident, and that is a very, very frightening prospect.

I had wished to use “quaked”, or “trembled with fear” to more accurately transfer the feeling, but this was the purest translation, the original phrasing was very neutral, and there are other more specific phrases that would translate to my choices above, so I left it as it is.

* * *

  * If my heart and body both are being messed up to such an extent, I cannot help but lose my judgement. 



I still have a problem with my choice of wording and wish I could find a better phrase, but a bit of explanation here.

The phrase as far as I can translate it purely is that “[I cannot help but] become unthinking”. Which I felt was not the same as “I cannot think/be unable to think”, or, “I will stop thinking”, it would have been worded differently for these cases I think. 

Because the root word involved here also means to consider, to ponder over and to reflect, also the thought process involved in decision making, so rather than that to become brainless, I feel that it really carries on the theme of letting go of control and just drifting with whatever happens. So I ended up with “lose my judgement” which is really awkward sounding but I feel encompasses a bit more of the meaning that I see in it. Hope that makes sense! 

* * *

  * If I admitted to it, it was pleasurable. 



Back to the _raku_ discourse, with its duality which means this sentence equally means “if I admitted it, it is easier.” This time based on what came before I opted for pleasure, but again, worth keeping in mind this other definition. 

* * *

  * **Shiroaoba:** “ _haha, ahaha, h, aHa_ , do it more…, more!  
**Shiroaoba:** ” _ahaha, a, h, nA, a_ , …enough to pierce through my insides, try to do it…! Go on!“  
**Mink:** ”…… _h_ “  
**Shiroaoba:** ” _hAhaha_ , ha, stronger, do it with the intention to kill!!!“ 



The actual word used here by Shiroaoba was やれ _yare_.  
_Yaru_ has so many meanings, and in this situation as _yare_ holds both the meaning of crudely saying a generic “to do (something)”, or “to have sex”. And the way Shiroaoba is saying it, the first line would have been better expressed replacing “do it” with “fuck me”. But the next line is delightfully ambiguous as whether it should mean “see if you can do it”, as in to see if he can break through, or “try to fuck me harder”. I finally decided to stick with “do it” in all the lines as it would fit all purposes having both meanings, but it does end up losing the crudeness factor here. 

* * *

  * Even so, in the number of times that he has had sex with me, it is something that I have sensed somehow.  
The Mink who would pursue me no matter where, his way with me is completely like his way of life itself. 



Okay, I think that this will probably stir up controversy and I chickened out to avoid being fried by this one, so I will admit here that yes, I have deviated from what was written somewhat. 

The original wording translates as “have been held/embraced” and I put that in my initial draft without further thought, assuming that he meant when Mink carried him after each “encounter”. But on the second pass, it occurred to me that Aoba never has any memory of when he is carried. Therefore I concluded that it must be the subtext meaning of having sex. But with such a word choice, I feel that it has tender connotations to it, and, in any other situation, I would have used “have been made love to”.

The problem here is self-evident I think. 

So… I ended up using a neutral phrase, but just to let you guys know what was really said, it is an important colouring on things I think. 

Also that I was being incredibly coy and in the second line “his way with me” is actually very specifically “his way of having sex with me”. My apologies.


End file.
